EXPRESSING SENSE OF HOUSE THAT THE LACK OF TIMELY AND PREDICTABLE FUNDING UNNECESSARILY UNDERMINES MISSION OF THE UNITED STATES SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND

On 2018-07-25, Representative Richard Hudson (R-NC-9) delivered a floor speech titled "EXPRESSING SENSE OF HOUSE THAT THE LACK OF TIMELY AND PREDICTABLE FUNDING UNNECESSARILY UNDERMINES MISSION OF THE UNITED" in the House. The speech addressed healthcare and also covered taxes, the environment. It referenced legislation: HRES1009.

EXPRESSING SENSE OF HOUSE THAT THE LACK OF TIMELY AND PREDICTABLE FUNDING UNNECESSARILY UNDERMINES MISSION OF THE UNITED STATES SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND

Congressional Record, Volume 164 Issue 125 (Wednesday, July 25, 2018) [Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 125 (Wednesday, July 25, 2018)] [House] [Pages H7645-H7647] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] EXPRESSING SENSE OF HOUSE THAT THE LACK OF TIMELY AND PREDICTABLE FUNDING UNNECESSARILY UNDERMINES MISSION OF THE UNITED STATES SPECIAL OPERATIONS COMMAND Ms. CHENEY. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1009) expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the lack of timely and predictable funding unnecessarily undermines the mission of the United States Special Operations Command and jeopardizes the security of the United States. The Clerk read the title of the resolution. The text of the resolution is as follows: H. Res. 1009 Whereas the ability of the United States Special Operations Command to successfully conduct operations relies on adequate resourcing; Whereas Special Operations Forces must prepare for a wide array of missions to support and defend the United States in various capacities around the world; Whereas the training and development of Special Operations Forces takes multiple years and cannot be created overnight; Whereas the success of the United States Special Operations Command requires close coordination between each branch of the Armed Forces; Whereas training shortfalls have been identified as posing an unnecessary risk to Special Forces soldiers; Whereas the lack of full, on-time funding undermines the ability of the United States Special Operations Command to work by, with, and through our partner nations; Whereas the smaller operating footprint of Special Operations Forces poses unique operational needs not found in conventional forces; Whereas the deployment cycle of Special Operations Forces requires additional attention and resources be provided for family and support programs before, during, and after deployments; and Whereas the United States Special Operations Command must maintain a constant level of readiness that is significantly undermined by budget uncertainty: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives-- (1) finds that not providing the Department of Defense with stable, predictable, and on-time funding unnecessarily jeopardizes the safety and security of the United States; (2) expresses a sense of gratitude for the incredible sacrifices made by both Special Operators and their families; and (3) commits to meeting the needs of the United States Special Operations Command as part of its efforts to restore military readiness. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from Wyoming (Ms. Cheney) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Garamendi) each will control 20 minutes. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Wyoming. General Leave Ms. CHENEY. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and insert extraneous material on the resolution under consideration. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman from Wyoming? There was no objection. Ms. CHENEY. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Hudson) to discuss his resolution. Mr. HUDSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my resolution, H. Res. 1009, which expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that lack of timely and predictable funding unnecessarily undermines the mission of the United States Special Operations Command and jeopardizes the security of the United States. {time} 1500 Mr. Speaker, one of the greatest honors of my life is representing Fort Bragg, the epicenter of the universe and home of the Airborne and Special Operations Forces. The units stationed here represent the best of the best and have a vast footprint. [[Page H7646]] As our Nation continues to fight terrorism around the world while simultaneously preparing for the threats of near-peer adversaries, our requirements increase and diversify. For too long, we have asked our military to do more with less. Now, we have made great progress with our fiscal year 2018 and fiscal year 2019 DOD appropriations, but every time we fail to pass a Defense Appropriations bill on time, we do irreparable harm to our Nation's military. This is especially apparent in our special operations community. The men and women at USSOCOM cannot afford another year of CRs. Their missions require an advanced level of training and preparation as they operate in some of the most austere conditions in the world. When USSOCOM is not funded on time, training cannot be conducted, essential equipment cannot be ordered, and long-term responsibilities are not met. The effects of 9 years of continuing resolutions have severely undermined our forces and led to a waste of taxpayer dollars as we flood the Department of Defense with cash near the end of the fiscal year and force them to spend it all within a matter of a few months. We must never underestimate the most important asset our military has, and that is the individual. Green Berets cannot be built overnight. We cannot flip a switch and magically produce Navy SEALs or Air Force combat controllers or Marine Raiders. The elite units of USSOCOM are built over multiple years and cannot be stopped and started. This resolution would affirm our commitment to stand behind each and every one of these incredible servicemembers and their families. Make no mistake, when this body chooses not to appropriately fund these warriors, we are putting their lives at greater risk. I refuse to go home and look in the eye of a Gold Star wife of a Green Beret and say: ``Sorry, your husband didn't get the training he needed, because we were too busy playing games in Washington.'' That, Mr. Speaker, is unacceptable. The time is now for us to come together as a Nation and fund our military. I urge every one of my colleagues to recognize what is at stake and put the needs of our Nation before politics. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Representative Cheney for her efforts on these issues, as well as Chairman Thornberry and Chairwoman Granger for their unwavering support and commitment to our military and our special operators. Mr. GARAMENDI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself as much time as I might consume, but I will try to be brief. Mr. Speaker, we are in total support of this piece of legislation. We think this is a very, very good thing to do, to adequately fund all of our military, whether it is SOCOM or any other part of it. It is essential for our national security. However, I would like to note that, having served on the Armed Services Committee for the last several years and endured unending discussions about the horrible sequestration issues, which were totally under the control of the majority party to change should they decide to do so, that it is a little incongruous to put forth a resolution that would call for adequate funding for SOCOM, and we should do so. At the same time, when we have created a trillion-dollar deficit with a piece of legislation that passed last December with no Democratic votes--because we like to think of ourselves as deficit hawks, and we think it is difficult to put this Congress into a situation where we have to choose between the health of seniors who are on Medicare or young children who depend upon the Medicaid program or maybe the education systems. So this resolution, it is a good thing. It is something we ought to do. Certainly, we ought to support SOCOM. Certainly, we ought to pass appropriations bills on time. Let me commend the House for having done so, and we can always blame the enemy on the other side of the building, the Senate, but the reality is that the Treasury was gutted by a tax bill of which more than 80 percent of the benefit went to the top income earners of America and corporations. And a deficit has been created that will be a trillion dollars next year. That is the period of time in which this resolution calls for full funding for our Special Operations Forces. So my discussion today is really about the very difficult choices that are going to have to be made because this Congress, without Democratic support, decided that the first choice was the superwealthy and the corporations of America, not the children, not the sick, not those in need of education, not the infrastructure, but rather those who have much already. Now, I notice that I don't have many colleagues here on our side, although I would assure all the Congress that we are 100 percent in support of our Special Operations Forces, and we look forward to a continuing debate on the choices that must be made. Mr. Speaker, I urge an ``aye'' vote, and I yield back the balance of my time. Ms. CHENEY. Mr. Speaker, I welcome my colleague from California's support for this resolution. As my colleague knows very well, we have done far more in this body, and, as he mentioned, we have done far more in this body than these resolutions of support. These resolutions of support are crucially important, but we have, in this House, completed our work. We have completed our work on the Defense Appropriations bill. Last year, the Senate also completed its work, and we were able to take the very first crucially important steps to begin to rebuild our military with the $700 billion we were able to appropriate for fiscal year 2018. We have also done our work for this fiscal year, and we will be in a position, hopefully in the next day or so, to be able to pass the National Defense Authorization Act as well for fiscal year 2019. So we in this House understand how crucially important it is that we get the work done, that we pass this legislation. We need the Senate to do the same. We also, I think, need to recognize we have fundamental disagreements and disputes about the impact of the tax cuts we passed. In fact, on this side of the aisle, 

Referenced legislation: HRES1009, HRES1009